Joe Williams: Former teammate remembers Lee Roy Selmon

Groveland's Beau Jarrell was a defensive lineman with the Tampa Bay Bucs in 1982

September 10, 2011|Joe Williams, Orlando Sentinel

Facebook friends of Groveland's Beau Jarrell already know how touched he was by the death of former Tampa Bay Buccaneer and Hall of Famer Lee Roy Selmon.

Jarrell, 55, who was on the defensive line with Selmon when he was a nose tackle for the Buccaneers in 1982, has posted several comments on the social media site.

The posts started with the news more than a week ago that Selmon had a massive stroke. He took a stand against those misspelling Selmon's name on posts — "His name was Lee Roy Selmon, NOT LeRoy, he hated when people made that mistake …" Last Sunday, the day of Selmon's death, he asked his NFL brethren to pray for Selmon and his family. Then, he used his Facebook page to spread the word about a viewing in Tampa,a private get-together of players with Selmon's family at Raymond James Stadium, and a service.

Jarrell also thanked former Buccaneers' coach Tony Dungy for the kind words he wrote in his blog about Selmon, not-so-much pointing out how good a player he was, but more about Selmon's character and how much he meant to the Tampa Bay community.

Jarrell's post: "Coach Dungy, Thanks for your kind words and as we all know Lee Roy was such [a] pro in everything he did in life. There is no replacement for him and just knowing him as I did was a privilege in itself."

In addition to what Selmon did for the Buccaneers, he also helped get the University of South Florida's football program started.

"As far as getting to know Lee Roy, he was a big part of my life learning the game of football," Jarrell said Friday afternoon after returning from Selmon's service in Tampa. ""I remember the first time I met Lee Roy, he walked into the room and I had no idea who he was but he reached out to shake my hand and welcome me. He had great big, fat hands.

"He was a player who didn't say a lot, but he was all action on the field. Today [at his service] was such a tribute to him, all the guys from South Florida were there, all the [current] Buccaneers players were there and a lot of us former players were there. They said there were three or four former [Tampa] mayors there. The church was filled up."

Although Jarrell is better known around Lake County's athletic community for the time he spent working with young softball players, coaching at South Lake High School and with travel teams, and conducting weekly softball clinics, he had deep football roots.

He played at the University of Nebraska.

He spent three years with the Buccaneers, though he was on their practice squad most of that time. He played in preseason games and at practices. He was on the team for the fourth game of the '82 season.

In addition he played defensive line with the Jacksonville Express (1979-81) and also played in the United States Football League for the Birmingham Stallions (1983) and the Jacksonville Bulls (1984-85). He was inducted in June to the American Football Association's Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.

Staying put

Jonathan Lucroy continues to play a key role in the Milwaukee Brewers' drive to win the National League Central Division title. But the Umatilla graduate will not be moving up to a line-up spot more conducive for driving in runs, anytime soon, according to what Adam McCalvy of MLB.com wrote last week.

Lucroy is tied for fourth on the team in RBIs with 56 as of Thursday, but manager Ron Roenicke has no inclination of moving Lucroy from the No. 8 position in the line-up. Lucroy, the Brewers starting catcher, has a .276 batting average with 11 home runs and 15 doubles in his first full season in the majors.

Finally football

High school football got underway Sept. 2 (Sept. 1 for Mount Dora Bible). Here are some highlights: It took more than a year, but Eustis coach Jonathan Cannon got his first varsity victory in a 21-13 triumph over first-year school Lake Minneola; South Lake's fourth-quarter rally gave the Eagles a 48-27 win over Mount Dora, Leesburg beat Tavares 34-7 and Mount Dora Bible stunned Seffner Christian 37-7.

There were three shutout victories with Umatilla beating Windermere Prep 48-0, The Villages topping Belleview 41-0 and South Sumter bettering Wildwood 35-0.

Next Friday's games: East Ridge at Merritt Island; Wildwood at Eustis; Lake Wales Vanguard at First Academy-Leesburg; Celebration at Lake Minneola in the Hawks' first-ever home game; Leesburg at Mount Dora; Mount Dora Bible at Central Florida Christian; South Lake at Yulee; Brooksville Hernando at South Sumter; The Villages at Tavares and Palatka Peniel Baptist at Umatilla.

jrwilliams@tribune.com or 352-742-5921. Read Joe Williams' blog at OrlandoSentinel.com/varsityblog. Sign up for the Varsity sports newsletter at OrlandoSentinel.com/joinus.